Inmate gets 41 percent of W.Va. vote against Obama

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - A man who sits in a federal prison in Texarkana, Texas, was picked by 41 percent of West Virginia Democrats in Tuesday's presidential primary.

Keith Judd received 72,544 votes compared to President Barack Obama's 105,854. In 10 of West Virginia's 55 counties, Judd received more votes than Obama.

Judd, 53, is a perennial candidate. He repeatedly has ran for president as well as for mayor of Albuquerque, N.M., and for governor of New Mexico. He filed to run on the ballot for president in 14 states in 2008, but only appeared on the Idaho ballot, according to Wikipedia.

Judd -- Inmate No. 11593-051 at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana -- was on the West Virginia ballot because he paid his $2,500 filing fee fee and submitted a form known as a notarized certification of announcement, according to Jake Glance in the West Virginia Secretary of State's office.

However, Judd won't have any delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Derek Scarbro, West Virginia Democratic Party executive director, said no one filed to be a delegate for Judd. He also said he didn't think Judd had filed the proper paperwork.

Judd is in prison after being convicted in 1999 on two counts of "mailing a threatening communication with intent to extort money or something of value" after he made threats at the University of New Mexico. He was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison. He has appealed his conviction dozens of times, but each appeal has been dismissed.

West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Mike Stuart called the results "a remarkable rebuke" to Obama.

"While (U.S. Senator Joe) Manchin and (Gov. Earl Ray) Tomblin waffle to hide their support for the President, nearly 40 percent of West Virginia Democrats said they would prefer a convict in a Texas prison over Barack Obama," Stuart said. "The real shame is that any legitimate Democrat challenger to President Obama would have won and that is the story across the country.

"The Democrats have given this President and his radical far-left agenda a free ride to the nomination for a second term. Keith Judd's performance is embarrassing for Obama and our great state."

Stuart said Obama's lack of support in West Virginia is a result of his stance on coal.

"The people of West Virginia understand that this President has declared war on West Virginia coal and West Virginia jobs," Stuart said. "West Virginians understand that this President must be defeated in November and new Republican solutions put in place to create a stronger, better economy.

"How could any responsible leader in West Virginia support the re-election of a President that is intentionally working to destroy the culture and economy of the very state he or she is supposed to represent. The Democrat Party is completely out of touch with the citizens of this great state. The Republican Party in West Virginia is fighting to build a brighter future for the people of West Virginia and we will deliver results in November."

"The voters of our state are conservative, both fiscally and socially, and they will not support the out of control spending and regulation of the Obama Administration even if the West Virginia Democratic establishment continues to stand with him after tonight's embarrassment," Stuart said. "We are looking forward to a huge victory for Mitt Romney in November because West Virginia cannot risk another four years of Barack Obama and his Democratic War on Coal.

"It is still unconscionable to me that the West Virginia Democratic Party, Nick Rahall and Joe Manchin would turn their backs on the people of West Virginia and endorse Barack Obama. The people of our great state deserve better, and we are 100 percent committed to fighting for the conservative values of all of our fellow West Virginians."

The 10 counties that had more voters picking Judd than Obama are Boone, Clay, Gilmer, Hardy, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Tucker, Webster and Wyoming.

On his Project Vote Smart profile, Judd says his favorite president was Richard Nixon. And he cites John F. Kennedy's "Ask not" as his favorite quote. He lists Gene Hackman as his favorite actor and bowler Gary Skidmore as his favorite athlete. If he could meet anyone dead or alive, he'd pick Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart because "he was cool."

Under hobbies and special talents, he lists bowling a perfect 300 game as well as ESP and fortune telling.

As for his priority issues, Judd lists the Judicial Accountability Commission and U.S. Department of Justice Accountability Commission as well as the U.S. Treasury Accountability Commission, the Federal Reserve Bank System Accountability Commission. He'd also like to "re-invent the public school system with ties to industries, community job placement and higher education."

He seeks office "to make the world a better place."

Other interesting facts from Judd's profile:

* He lists his mother as actress Lillian Russell, a silent film star who died in 1922;

* He also says his father, Homer. T. Judd, "designed the first atomic bomb and worked for the Atomic Energy Commission 30 years;"

* His religion: "Rastafarian-Christian;"

* He also says he was a member of the Federation of Super Heroes from 1976 to 1982;

* Under education, he said he's "attended" The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, UCLA, the University of New Mexico and Bethany Nazarene College.

* He wants to eliminate federal taxes and increase spending on defense and domestic welfare. "The Federal Government can merely operate on its own self-produced money rather than pretend to borrow it to pay private banks to store it and regulate interest rates, and then tax it;"

* He doesn't believe in homosexuality. "Homosexuality does not exist anywhere else in nature. No other creature or animal on earth are homosexuals. I do not condone crimes or attacks on homosexuals, but we do not have to place our seal of approval of same sex marriages."